First Real Meeting
by ManaketeSmoocher
Summary: [Fashion AU] It seems like Forrest's dreams came true. Now, it just depends on the other parent to decide if they really think starting a relationship with their new boss is a good idea. [trans!Leon] [MU]


Usually, having a child was a serious decision that one would make after much deliberation. The couple (or more) would decide that yes, they wanted a child, and they were financially and emotionally stable. This wasn't the case for Leon. While it was true, he was technically financially stable due to his older siblings making good money and his family just generally being wealthy, he certainly wasn't _emotionally_ stable. It's one thing to tell your siblings that you're pregnant, but another thing entirely to tell them that you don't know who the other parent is because you got pregnant while you were drunk, not to mention the fact that they're already having a hard time seeing you as male because you only came out to them as trans about a month ago. Yes, Leon could definitely say it wasn't the best time to get pregnant. Niles told him to just get an abortion. Leon told him to fuck off.

He'd never really been against having a child, he'd just expected it to happen later. When he wasn't suffering from alcohol withdrawal. And also preferably when he knew the other parent and was in some sort of close romantic relationship with them. Forrest really hadn't been conceived at a convenient time period in his life, but Leon supposed it was really for the best. Without Forrest, he wasn't sure he'd have been able to keep himself from going back to the bars he'd once frequented. Every time he felt that need to drown himself in alcohol, he reminded himself he was going to be a father. Someone really _needed_ him. And that helped him much more than he realized.

It wasn't without drawbacks, of course. While Forrest spurred him into being a functioning member of society and even starting up his own (rather successful) business, he also had to deal with the struggles of parenthood. Breastfeeding was more than a little awkward for him during that first year or so, but he managed to struggle through. Everything was fine after he fell into the routine. It was wonderful until Forrest began pining for his other parent. Siegbert had two fathers, so why couldn't he? Forrest became convinced that he would meet his other father, and his parents would get married and live a fairytale sort of life. Leon didn't want to disappoint him, but it was rather hard, seeing family drawings where Forrest would make up his other parent differently every time. The only thing that seemed to stay consistent was that he wore the colour blue.

Finding Forrest's other parent really shouldn't have been too hard. His small, pointed ears and ruby red eyes weren't exactly common, and even his pale hair was an odd sort of colour Leon hadn't seen before. Something held him back every time he considered searching, and he suspected it had something to do with the high expectations Forrest had for the other parent. Leon didn't want to let him down, but there seemed to be no right path to take. It was a bit exhausting, and made Leon feel like a bit of a coward. One morning, Forrest was scribbling in his sketchbook as he waited for his father to finish his breakfast, as usual.

"I think he'll be soft. And really nice." He beamed at Leon. "Do you think we'll meet him soon, father?" Leon smiled at him the best he could.

"We might even meet him today. You never know." Forrest giggled, and Leon reached over to pat him on the cheek. "Come on, we're thinking of hiring a new model and I want to meet them before they get interviewed."

"Oh, goodie!" Forrest clapped, getting out of his seat as Leon cleaned his plate. He made sure to take his sketchbook with him. "This time I thought I'd make him a lot smaller than you. But he's super strong! He could protect us from all the bad guys out there." Leon forced a small laugh.

"That's what Marx and Camilla are for."

"Nuh-uh. Aunt Camilla doesn't protect us, she gets revenge. Uncle Marx is the one who protects us. But he has to protect all of us, and that's a lot of people to protect! I think it'd be nice if Dad could help him." Forrest rambled on as Leon buckled him into his car seat.

"Well, I suppose you're right." As Leon began to drive, he smiled at how much Forrest loved to talk. The young boy would prattle on and on just to get better at his speech, and he almost sounded like an adult. It was rather impressive at the age of two. "I think we all protect each other in our own ways, though."

"Siegbert protects me from the scary nightmares." Forrest stated matter-of-factly. "He lets me climb into bed with him and then the monsters can't get to me because he has a cool sword." Leon decided not to tell him that the Siegfried that Siegbert kept with him was very much fake and made of foam.

"It _is_ a very strong sword." Leon concluded as he parked the car.

The blonde man walked to the back seat, where he unbuckled his son. He picked Forrest up, moving him to the ground before getting his son's sketch book. Leon handed the book to him, waiting for him to hold it securely with one arm before taking his father's hand. They walked into the building hand-in-hand before going up to Leon's office. Traffic had been rather slow on the way there, so Leon assumed the new model had already gone to the interview. He planned on just asking they send the newcomer to his office after they were finished, but it seemed he would have the chance to meet him for a moment regardless.

"Ahh, gosh, sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you!" A rather short person exclaimed, looking rather panicked as Leon had dropped his phone. Forrest began tugging at Leon's hand, but he ignored him.

"It's alright." Leon stated, picking up the electronic. It seemed undamaged, thankfully, though it wouldn't have been hard to replace if it wasn't. "I should have been looking where I was going."

"But I should have been doing that too!" They sighed, and the next words were more directed at themself than they were at Leon. "Jeeze, first I'm late, then I'm running into the president of the company… Good job, Soapy, you're going to stay unemployed forever and get lost in this maze of a company and nobody is ever going to find you." Leon blinked, finally looking at the stranger.

"What kind of name is Soapy?" As he took in Soapy's appearance, it suddenly clicked in his mind why Forrest was tugging at his hand. "Gods, you look just like…" Leon cleared his throat, ignoring Soapy's confused expression. "Forrest, I trust you can find my office if I leave you at an elevator?" Forrest nodded rapidly.

"Yes, father!" He drummed his fingers on his sketchbook, likely wanting to draw something right away.

"Well, Soapy, I'm going to give you a little tour of the place so you can get a general feel of the layout before I take you to your interview."

"But Mr. Anya-"

"Leon." He smiled down at them. "Call me Leon." Soapy blushed slightly, nodding.

"Leon, I don't want to take up your time… You have your son with you and-"

"It's alright." Leon looked between Forrest and Soapy. "I think he's anxious to have some alone time. Besides, you're never going to make it to your interview without me."

Soapy laughed nervously, letting Leon have his way. They dropped Forrest off at the elevator before Leon led them to the main entrance to the building. On their way there, Leon took a moment to fully take in their appearance. The first thing Leon noticed were their eyes, a ruby red in contrast to the rest of their rather pale aesthetic. Their ears were pointed, and their hair a familiarly odd pale shade he couldn't quite describe. A scar went across the bridge of their nose, but Leon suspected it came from a stupid accident rather than a serious fight. They were dressed in nothing but a large white dress shirt and a pair of dark black leggings. Leon vaguely remembered owning a large white dress shirt he hadn't had before a certain night, and it made him wonder.

"Sorry, is there something on my face?" Soapy blurted out.

"What? No, of course not. Why do you ask?" Leon shook his head slightly, bringing his focus to Soapy's face.

"You've been staring at me…" They mumbled.

"You just look an awful lot like my son, you know?" Leon smiled at them, but didn't say another thing about it until after finishing the short tour of the building.

"I hope I don't get lost after all of that…"

"If you do, it's not the end of the world." They stopped in front of the door to the room. "This is where your interview was supposed to start an hour ago." Soapy groaned.

"I'm never going to get hired."

"Hmm, I wouldn't say that." He began to open the door. "I'd like to talk with you in my office after this, though."

"Wait, why?" Leon shook his head before speaking to whoever was in the room.

"Sorry he's late, I may have abducted him for an impromptu tour of the place." He cleared his throat. "He's hired, but I want you to do the interview anyways. Someone take him to my office after you finish."

Leon left the room, patting Soapy's shoulder on the way out. He immediately went to his office, where he knew Forrest would be waiting for him. As he walked, he sorted through his thoughts. Leon was almost certain that Soapy was Forrest's other father, and while the thought excited him, it also made him feel a bit reserved. Soapy may be rather attractive (by Leon's standards), but there still stood the fact that he was a total stranger. At least Leon knew why he chose the other in his drunken state, but the fact that he probably had sex with the person he'd just met was a little disorienting. He supposed he would try to make up his mind better when he had a proper conversation with the other. Blushing as he recalled Soapy's appearance, he could definitely agree with his drunk self's taste in men. He pushed those embarrassing thoughts out of his mind as he entered his office.

"Father! I drew you, me, and Dad!" Forrest exclaimed, jumping up from his seat on the ground and running to hug Leon's legs. Leon smiled, kneeling down to be eye level with him. He hadn't noticed the slow sense of worry that had been growing within him since leaving Forrest at the elevator, but he was glad to see him again.

"Let me see…" Leon was met with a crude drawing of what was supposed to be himself, Soapy, and Forrest. He blushed. "Well, we're not sure, yet… I haven't even talked to him about it yet."

"But…" Forrest's face fell. "That's my dad. He has to be my dad!"

"I'm not saying he isn't, I'm just not sure if he'll want to be with me. I've never really met him, after all. We don't know if he really wants to be a dad." Leon gently stroked his hair, being careful not to mess it up.

"He better want me." Forrest pouted. "I'm the best son ever." Leon couldn't help but laugh at that.

"You really are, aren't you." Forrest nodded confidently, and Leon kissed him on the forehead. "Wouldn't you say it's about nap time?"

"Yes." He adjusted his hair. "I need my beauty sleep."

Leon smiled fondly at his son as he pulled himself up onto the couch in the office. It was mainly there for Forrest to nap on, so Leon had to make sure it was comfortable when he bought it. He brought his son the pillow and blanket he'd grown fond of, and the two year old immediately fell asleep upon settling into a good position. Leon watched him for a moment before opening his design book and jotting down notes on outfits he was working on, as well as ideas for new ones. He was so focused on his designs that he didn't notice the knock on his door. It wasn't until Felicia opened without permission and raised her voice that he registered her presence.

"Mr. Anya!" Her tone was a bit of a whisper-shout, likely because of the sleeping child on the couch.

"Felicia?" He blinked, his mind taking a split second to remember why she was there. "Right. Would you mind taking Forrest with you? I don't want him waking up while we're talking."

Felicia nodded, performing an odd little half-bow before going over to the couch and carefully taking the young boy into her arms. Soapy fully walked into the room as she did so, their eyes taking in the surroundings. It was a rather well-lit room, though the furniture and general aesthetic was otherwise dark. Several bookshelves lined the walls, spines looking only slight worn, as if someone had read them frequently but taken the care not to let them fall into disrepair. The only bits of furniture besides the obvious desk and chairs were the couch Felicia had retrieved Forrest from and a glass coffee table. It wasn't until Felicia had left the room that Soapy realized Leon had moved from his desk chair to the couch. The blond man patted the spot beside him as a silent invitation for Soapy to sit. They did so, waiting for the other to speak first.

"So…" His gaze was focused on the glass table in front of them. Forrest's sketchbook lay closed on top of it. "You're probably wondering why I've taken such an interest in you." Soapy nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm nothing special, really. I wasn't expecting to actually get hired or anything with the kind of body I have." They laughed a little as they patted their belly fat, and Leon frowned, glancing over at him.

"I think you look beautiful." Soapy blushed, looking away from Leon.

"I mean, I guess… I was just saying I'm not tall or thin. I'm not the typical model."

"Well, if you know anything about my company, you know we don't care about society's perception of the perfect body." Leon smiled slightly. "Other than that, though…" He reached over to take Forrest's sketchbook, opening it and leafing through the pages.

"Are those your son's drawings?" Soapy asked curiously, moving closer to get a better look.

"Yes… He's always wanted to meet his other father. I couldn't really help that, though. If you know anything about me, you probably know that I had a pretty bad time with alcohol for some years, and, well, Forrest was the end result." Soapy blinked, looking a little confused as to why he was telling him that.

"That must've been tough. I'm glad you're better now, though." They smiled, and Leon smiled back, feeling a little nervous.

"He has some unique features I've never seen on anybody but him, up until now."

"Oh, really? He looks pretty normal to me."

"That's because he looks like you." A light blush crept into his cheeks.

"I thought he looked more like my sister." Leon almost groaned at the other's obliviousness.

"Well, I'm not exactly attracted to females, so I doubt that's the case." He muttered.

"Wait, what does your sexuality have to do with this?"

"Soapy, I'm trying to tell you that I think you're my son's other parent without being blunt because my nerves are getting in the way." Leon said, a little faster than he would have had he not been feeling embarrassed. He was sure he was blushing, but at least the deepening shade of red on Soapy's cheeks made him feel less self-conscious.

"You're saying I had sex with you." Leon nodded. "And I got you pregnant."

"Yes."

"Oh gods, I'm so sorry, I-" Leon held up a hand in a way that told Soapy to stop apologizing. He put Forrest's sketchbook back on the table and tentatively reached over to put his hand on Soapy's.

"No, I was wondering if… Maybe we could…" Leon couldn't remember the last time he'd been so nervous about anything. It was making it hard to speak. "Forrest has always wanted to me to- to get close to his other parent, and I…" He made eye contact with Soapy. "After meeting you and talking with you a bit, I was hoping that maybe…" At that point his voice died in his throat, and he let out a shaky breath before looking down at where he was holding Soapy's hand. His cheeks felt like they were burning.

"Oh gosh, this is really sudden."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" Leon began to pull his hand away, but Soapy's tightened grip caused him not to.

"No, don't get me wrong, you're really attractive." Soapy's cheeks made a valiant effort to match the red of their eyes. "I can definitely see what drunk me was thinking three years ago."

"... And?" Leon returned to making eye contact with them, finding it hard to look away this time.

"I'm not saying no, it's just so… so out of the blue, I don't know what to say."

Soapy smiled at him, and Leon could practically feel his own heartbeat. On one hand, he felt like a ridiculous high school kid, getting so worked up over some boy. He had to remind himself that that was okay, as he was still in his twenties and rather young. Soapy's smile made the already attractive person even cuter, and Leon hesitantly moved a hand to their face. The two leaned in, lips meeting in a slow kiss before the door clicked. They broke apart, though they didn't try to hide what they were doing and kept their hands linked, looking towards the door. Forrest practically jumped up on the couch in the small space left between his parents. He hid his face in Soapy's chest as giggles escaped him. Felicia soon came in, gasping for breath.

"Ahh, dad, save me, Felicia's gonna spill tea on me again!" He giggled, burying himself into Soapy's chest.

"The s-stairs!" She wheezed. "He ran- ran up th-the stairs!" Felicia coughed, closing the door behind her and sliding down it before slumping on the ground. "I'm so- so s-sorry, Mr. Anya, I couldn't control him." Leon blinked, not having been expecting that sort of interruption.

"Awww…" Soapy cooed, patting Forrest's head and hugging him. "Our son is so cute!" They laughed, smiling at Leon. Leon smiled back, blushing even more at the sight of Soapy with his- no, _their_ son.

"Oh! Oh gosh, I'll leave your three alone!" Felicia seemed suddenly embarrassed to be in the room with them, and she hurriedly stood up. Just as she was about to leave the room, she spun back around, most of her body already out of the door. "Can I be the godmother?"

"Bye, Felicia." Leon stared at her blankly.

"Ack! I'm so sorry! Soapy, you have to call me later, buh-bye!" She nearly ran out into the hallway, and the sound of someone tripping followed closely after.

Soapy giggled, apologizing on behalf of their best friend. Leon sighed, rolling his eyes and saying it didn't matter. Forrest leaned away from Soapy, smiling up at them eagerly. He looked between the two adults in the room, making himself completely comfortable on Soapy's lap. They kissed the top of his head, smiling at their newfound son. After a moment of silence, Forrest began to giggle again. When asked what was so funny, his response was rather short.

"You told me we might meet him today, and you were right!"

* * *

 ** _Word Count: 3,321_**

 **I think this is cute, I dunno. Also, this is part of an AU series. If you look through the fics on my profile, everything that starts its summary with [Fashion AU] is in the same universe (there's only two others so far: Little Brother and For His Sake)**

 **Anyways! I'd like it if you could check out the poll I have on my profile and vote for what series you want to see more of! I've got a good idea of what that is, but the more votes the better!**

 **Reviews are always welcome, and I hope to see you again!**


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